


Defective

by TheHomestuckWhovian



Series: Accidental AU [3]
Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen, Social Anxiety, The last three show up only later in the stories though, pearl-centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-06
Updated: 2015-08-17
Packaged: 2018-04-13 07:33:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4513305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheHomestuckWhovian/pseuds/TheHomestuckWhovian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stories of Pearl before the series starts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Pearl Starts a Rebellion of Her Own

Pearl walked calmly through the building, hiding her fear. She wanted to be back on Earth, where Rose Quartz was. She wanted to protect her and stay with her, but she remembered how important this job was.

She went to a chamber filled with Pearls. As it should be. She was going to do something she hated, something that made her shiver all the way up to the gem on her forehead.

She was going to give a speech.

She didn't even have notes to go on. What if she was unable to say what she wanted to say? What if she was reported? What if she froze? She was terrified of this, of doing this in general. Rose was always so much better with speaking to crowds.

_You are strong, Pearl, and you can show them that they can be strong too._

She took a deep breath. Rose was wrong. She wasn't strong in the way everyone thought. But she would do this for her.

She stood on a table, asking loudly, "May I have your attention, please?"

The room went quiet, other Pearls looking at her. She closed her eyes, so she could continue without being terrified of them all staring at her.

"I've always been called defective, because I hesitate to follow orders, because I get scared. Pearls are supposed to be content with cleaning, after all, and my desire to want more makes me defective. But I imagine I'm not the only one who questions why we are the servants always."

Other Pearls in the crowd nodded slowly. There were no other gems, save for them, in this chamber, so they could, for once, acknowledge their discontent.

"You know, we are gems too. So why do they walk on us, treat us as slaves and entertainers? Why are we the only ones who can clean and deliver their mail. Why are we considered less?"

Pearl's eyes opened, and she felt like she was going to retreat into her gem because they were all looking at her, and she silently felt like they were judging her, and criticizing. Her face had a faint blue blush as she did her best to relax, to finish this speech. She was doing this for Rose, and for all these Pearls here. She took an unnecessary breath and continued.

"For the last two cycles, I have been working for Rose Quartz, who you formerly knew as Pink Diamond. And, instead of being called defective, I was suddenly an equal. And now, my friend is starting a rebellion, saving a planet she cares about from this planet itself. So, we should take this opportunity to get ourselves free!"

Other Pearls looked at each other, confused. They weren't strong, they couldn't fight, and they would be crushed if they tried.

"Other gems may tell you that you can't fight, that you must follow orders. But, I believe you all are capable of fighting, of learning. We may not have the physical strength they have, but we can be strong in the real way! We can prove to them, that we deserve better! That we are equals to them! That we won't be under their thumb until our gems are smashed! So, my friends, I have a solution."

The plan was simple. Rose Quartz's rebellion was on Earth, so they would get their escape by espionage. Pearls often would be cleaning during important meetings, or delivering notes from generals to generals. Pearls also had amazing memories, for arranging everything back exactly where it was when they began cleaning. They could use those minds to hold information, intercept letters and memorize discussions, to deliver it to Rose Quartz through her Pearl. While this was going on, Pearl would teach them to summon their weapons and how to fight, having been taught by a friend of Rose Quartz. As time would go on, they would begin sabotaging technology, such as weapons and ships. When the time was right, they would take the Diamond Castle's warp pad, and teleport to Earth to join Rose's army.

Pearls cheered at the announcement of this plan. Their freedom would have to be fought for, but they had always been hard workers, and they would do this successfully.

* * *

Pearl grinned as three of the Pearls she was currently teaching managed to summon their weapons. They smiled back, and she moved them to advanced training. They all had different weapons, which she expected. No two of the same gem had the same weapon usually. So far, there were no other spears in her group, but that wouldn't stop her from training them to her best abilities.

She wasn't able to go directly back to Earth, so she gave the information to Ruby, a good friend of both her and Rose, in written form. When she wasn't training Pearls that weren't working, she was writing information that other Pearls had gotten from their day to day jobs. Rose's rebellion was known about, but Ruby was not suspected to be part of it, being a trusted, if small, general. Pearls were told not to intercept anything going to Ruby, and Ruby went to Earth nearly everyday with information.

When space ships were discovered to be having weapons attached to handle the rebellion, Pearls began sneaking in under cleaning duties and stealing parts required for the weapons. Pearl bubbled the items and sent them to Earth, for the technicians down there to play around with. Bits of armor designed for the ships were sent too.

Eventually, every registered Pearl could summon her weapon, and the first and last Homeworld battle of the rebellion was near.

Ruby went on the warp pad ahead to Earth, because part of the plan was the destroy the warp pad, making Homeworld's retaliation on Earth take longer and give Rose a chance to build up a larger army. Ruby had to be on Earth when it happened, or she would be stuck on the Homeworld forever.

Soon afterward, a general, with her gem where her nose would be, approached the warp pad, followed by a squadron.

Pearl stopped her, saying with utter determination, "You shouldn't go there."

"Why is that?" the gem snarled. Pearl resisted every nerve telling her it was a bad idea. She was the center of attention again and she hated it, but this was the chance they had to take now.

"Because we won't let you."

The Pearl's attacked.

The battle was evenly matched. The general's side had more training, but the immense amount of Pearls was overwhelming. With the general poofed and the Pearls victorious for now, they ran to the warp pad, heading to Earth ten at a time. Surprisingly few gems were smashed and Pearl collected all the Pearls who had been poofed. Pearl was the last one to leave, and, together with Ruby, smashed the Galaxy Warp. Homeworld's only way of getting here was space ships now. They would be safe for now.

Pearl was back on Earth, where Rose was, and she had never been happier.


	2. Pearl Creates Something Amazing

Pearl shivered with fear when the eyes that had all been formerly looking at Ruby all turned their gaze to her. She felt small and weak. It was like every Gem was thinking about how a little defective Pearl could fuse with the mighty Rose Quartz, the gem who conquered many worlds before deciding to save this little unimportant one.

It was hard to remember that she had trained most of these Gems in combat when they all were looking at her as if they were judging her worth.

Rose was smiling, of course, as the two faced each other. They started stiffly dancing, unsure of how this would work.

Ruby groaned at the two awkwardly dancing gems, explaining that they needed to relax before asking if they were sure. Pearl let her doubt  surface, not wanting to tarnish Rose's image.

Then Rose said she wanted to fuse.

Rose's dancing was lose and carefree, and Pearl felt clumsy at first as she tried to adhere to the dancing she was doing before. She closed her eyes, imagining she was alone, save for Rose, then began to experiment. She pointed her toes, spinning on them, and reached her leg behind her. She allowed herself to feel graceful.

She opened her eyes and spun into Rose's arms, allowing herself to be dipped before glowing with white light.

Rainbow Quartz opened her eyes and felt Pearl's remaining worry melt away. The two parts that made her felt wonderfully in sync, and Rose's joy and cheerfulness alleviated the deepset fear that Pearl was always feeling, from the moment the young Gem had been created. 

She relished in the freedom she felt, to be able to look at the crowd with all four eyes and not worry about them judging her. She was not Rose, but she could feel the love Rose felt for every single gem in her small army. She was not Pearl, but she could feel the pride of having turned this group of gems, old and young, big and small, fierce and timid, into a force to be reckoned with.

"We-I feel wonderful!" she decided, making sure to correct her pronoun. She wondered why anyone had ever considered this cheap. She felt a different kind of whole. She felt secure about herself in a way that Pearl could never experience by herself.

She spun with joy, laughing with all the happiness that she felt. This world she was protecting was beautiful, and she loved seeing it. She saw Ruby smile at her and she wanted to hug her friend for helping her learn that this wasn't an abomination. She wanted to dance on the beach and on the water. She wanted to continue experiencing this feeling, of being strong, brave, free, and _alive_.

She posed in front of the awed crowd, her smile wide with the exhilaration of being here for the first time in a way that was different than the two gems who made up her had ever known.

"I'm Rainbow Quartz!" she announced, before unfusing again.

Pearl's blue blush dusted her cheeks as Rose gave her an amazing smile, one that seemed full of understanding. Rose now knew about her worries, about her fears. And she didn't care.

As Ruby finished her first lesson, Pearl decided she understood what Ruby was talking about.


End file.
